Yugo never fully grasped his sever difference until he noticed that Evangelyne and Percedal's kids where that same height as him, even Adamai seemed to be growing in spite of his brother's eternal height of a twelve year old. Even his dearest Amalia had grown into a woman that a man could easily lust after... Yugo could only smile and nod as he went through the motions of daily life, playing with Dally and Evangelyne's children; Elely and Flopin, listening to Amalia gush over a gob-ball player from across the seas, treasure hunting with Ruel, talking to Skribble, cooking with Alibert whenever he was home, reading to Grougaloragran and Chibi, training with Master Joris, and attempt to repair the damage he caused to Adamai and his relationship.
As the years past it seemed Master Joris only noticed and gave him a few words of comfort and a soft pat on the shoulder, Yugo smiled, knowing that was the best his Master could provide. Adamai was convinced the height was only Yugo's fault and was stubborn in his ways, refusing to trust the small Eliatrope.
As the familiar feeling of loneliness washes over the blue hooded child-like adult, a strange whisper coming from the equally familiar halls of the Sadida castle, "Eliacube?" Yugo whispered, quiet enough that the regular guards couldn't hear his mumble as he made his way to the dreadful cube. As he made his way to the cube, the regular pair of guards stood, he stood in front of them and they stepped aside and he walked inside with little difficulty.
"If I were a ShuShu, would you become my Guardian?" A whisper hummed, coming from the cube.
"And since when could you talk?" Yugo asked, making sure the doors were closed behind him before walking up to the floating cube.
"I speak to those that have the courage to hold me." The cube responded, "Now, little king, would you protect me?" Yugo nodded, holding a confused look in his eye.
"Of course I would, aren't we already? I mean, you are in the most secure castle since Nox's clock." Yugo noted with a small smile of pride, he did in fact train with a few of the newer Sadida guards and Master Joris.
"We? I do not want those who could be so easily corrupted to be in possession of an artifact such as I, only a innocent king should hold I." The cube said and Yugo sighed.
"Taking you out of this room would be high treason, ruin the relationship with Adamai, not to mention the Sadida people." Yugo sighed, "And did I not get burned from touching you in the past?"
"Only an overflow of Wakfu, my king," The Eliacube, "Any other person would've been burned from the inside out." Yugo shivered before testing his luck by reaching out and touching one of the corners with a felting hesitant touch, Yugo was surprised to notice his hand was not burned but was left with a tingling sensation, warming his entire body, "But as of now, I have a pleasant amount."
"YUGO!" A shout came from the entrance of the room and Yugo jumped, not expecting such a harsh shout in his peaceful lull, "Back away from the cube!" The voice was not completely unwelcome, Yugo turned around, a confused look on his face as his eyes landed on the not-so-young Amalia and her loyal friend, Evangelyne.
"Hey guys, I haven't seen you two in a few days." Yugo greeted with a smile, only to be grabbed by his sleeve and harshly torn out of the room, "Whoa! Amalia! I can walk!" Yugo yelped as he tripped over the tail of her dress, fortunately Amalia's dress was so long that she kept on walking without noticing.
"What have we told you about hanging around that cube?! It drives a good man insane!" Amalia scolded and Yugo's eyes became half lidded as he lost interest.
"Honestly Yugo, we've told too many times to count this week, you've spent far too much time with that blasted thing." Evangelyne said with a much more of a warm tone than Amalia. Yugo rolled his eyes with a sigh, his friends refused to treat him his age, besides from the boys, the girls in the group tended to like to coddle the poor boy.
"And I've told you I don't need supervision." Yugo mumbled, withholding his comment. The two led them out of the hall and into the large dining hall with Evangelyne and Dally's kids running round with their father play fighting with them, Adamai providing a enthusiastic play by play while blocking a few of the hits. Amalia sighed and Evangelyne chuckled, making the kids turn and run to greet her and the princess. Yugo caught the eye of his brother and sent him a smile, only for it to be returned with an angry glare.
Yugo sighed, a rare frown taking his young features but before any of the Brother Hood could notice, Elely ran over and tackled the small adult with a hug. Yugo returned the hug before setting the child down and looking at her with a smile, "Hello Elely, how are you?"
"I'm good! Daddy's teaching me more sword tactics and momma says I'm getting better with a bow!" Elely retold happily and Yugo smiled, nodding.
"You're very lucky, your father was quiet the hero in his younger days." Yugo winked and laughed and the big guffaw Dally huffed.
"Still am, you tiny tot!" Dally yelled and Yugo laughed, patting Elely's head before stretching.
"I think I made him mad." Yugo winked before walking out.
"No more Eliacube!" Amalia reminded and Yugo shrugged before closing the door to the dining hall, deciding on returning to his room that the king gifted to Yugo before his passing.
Meanwhile:
A small child blinked as he pushed himself up off the ground, his eyes flickering left and right in an attempt to figure out where he was. Unfortunately the only thing he could see was a million twinkling stars surrounding him, he felt like the center of the universe a he watched with amazement as moons and a huge sun danced around him. He tried to look down on himself, only to see tiny hands, those of a child. The child yelped, noticing there was nothing beneath him, with a terrible groan the planets started to fall, the stars fading as he fell.
He could not bring himself to scream, he couldn't bring himself to ruin the greatness of the scene. He watched as the last of the stars went out and the moons crashed against one another and cracked as the sun had yet to hit anything. The boy closed his eyes and resigned, not noticing the large claw resting under him, awaiting his arrival into his palm.
Once the boy awoke he noticed the stars where back with many more moons, he looked to see a group of very different individuals standing around him in a circle. He tried to get up but the largest of them all used his dragon snout to keep the poor child sitting on thin air, "Hello." The boy said, looking at the shortest female, she had pointy ears and long soft blonde hair.
"Hello child, welcome." She smiled and the boy hummed.
"We have called apon you to right a wrong." The dragon said in his deep voice that shook the boy, the child could only nod, "One of our young, a demi-god by the name of Yugo, has strayed because of the unfortunate aging of his friends." He continued and the boy thought about aging, what it was, what it did, what it caused... The boy could only draw a blank.
"Your name is yours to choose, you are of Cra, and you shall be raised here to learn to become the king of the great Cra people." The shortest female said, holding out a small wooden bow, simplistic in design but still made with extreme skill. The boy took the weapon and nodded, after his action a few of the silent people disappeared, "Impatient..." She huffed before walking up to the boy, offering a hand, "Come child, I am your protector, Cra."
The child took the gods hand and yelped as she effortlessly picked him up and walked into the emptiness, the child watched in curiosity as the stars faded and the black inkiness of space faded into a long cream coloured hall, lined with a long oak table with chairs lining on either side, "I suppose, we have done it before." A tall nimble man wrapped in fabric said to the dragon, the dragon nodded and the man clipped his fingers together, then let it fall to his side, "There, done." He said before disappearing.
"What did he do?" The child asked, tugging on Cra's sleeve. Cra looked down and hummed.
"He stopped the flow of time on the planet you came from." She said and the child could only nod, not really understanding what time was and how someone could stop it's 'flow'.
As time passed around the gods, the child learned the history of the Cra, Iops, the Eliatropes, Dragons, Sadida, ShuShu, and the Enutrof people. He learned the way of the bow, mastered it in fact. As he spent time around the gods he realised as they all stayed the same, he grew and changed. The thought made him feel uncomfortable, while he'd like to see what the next faze of live, or death, held for him... He felt as if the world was much bigger than the long halls and huge rooms of where ever he was. No matter where he wandered or how many doors he opened they always led to more rooms, some times full, sometimes empty... But every once and awhile, the doors led to a small balcony, the child (now an early teen) held onto the railing and watched the twinkling stars, occasionally looking down at the frozen planet, clouds never moved, water never shimmered like the water in the castle, the child never watched the planet for long, as it wasn't as amazing as the stars above him.